Whole-Bunch Fermentation Spreads to Piedmont

The technique already divides growers in Burgundy, and now producers in Barolo and Barbaresco are arguing over it, too.

While the debate over whether to de-stem or not has spread across the globe into New World pinot noir strongholds such as New Zealand, another celebrated Old World region is also experimenting with the technique. In Italy’s Barolo and Barbaresco denominations in the Langhe hills of Piedmont, producers are testing out whole-cluster fermentation.